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First Paisley Arts Festival celebrates late designer Pam Hogg

Getty Images Pam Hogg attends The London EDITION's iconic annual Burns Night feast hosted by Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY at Berners Tavern at The London EDITION on January 28, 2025 in London, EnglandGetty Images
Pam Hogg died at a hospice surrounded by family and friends last November

The first Paisley Arts Festival has launched with a celebration of late Scottish fashion designer Pam Hogg who died last November.

She was known for her eccentric and outlandish designs, which have been worn by stars including Rihanna, Kate Moss and Lady Gaga.

Hogg's friend, Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, hosted a sold-out event at Paisley Town Hall on Friday to celebrate her life and legacy in her home town.

Her family said she died peacefully at a hospice surrounded by "cherished friends", but no cause of death was given.

Hogg was understood to be in her 60s, but she told the Guardian in 2018 that she did not publicly disclose her age.

Welsh told BBC Scotland News that he remembered meeting Hogg in London in the early 1980s - in Soho where he was having an argument with his girlfriend.

"We were trying to get into the Wag Club," he said. "I was a bit scabily dressed as usual and I wasn't going to get in."

Irvine Welsh looks at the camera and smiles. He is bald and wears a dark top
Irvine Welsh hosted the event called Pam Hogg: Style, Defiance and the Art of Being Seen

He said Pam "took pity" on him and brought him in with her entourage. The pair became close friends in the years that followed.

"I just thought, 'who's this mad Weegie bird who's done up the the nines?'

"We'd go out a lot in London to see bands and clubs, and I kept running into her, she was always there. She was becoming very well known at that time."

Hogg was born in Paisley and studied Fine Art and Printed Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art.

She went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London and launched her first fashion collection, Psychadelic Jungle, in 1981.

It was inspired by the strict dress code and atmosphere of London's Blitz Club during the early 1980s.

Getty Images Pam Hogg and Kate Moss pictured in November 2016Getty Images
Pam Hogg and Kate Moss pictured in November 2016

Welsh described Hogg as a "punk-rock Paisley seamstress".

He said: "Everything she did with her work was very hands-on.

"She didn't make stuff for the mass market, she didn't make high street fashion.

"She made things that would be spectacular and shocking and didn't like the watering down of that."

Hogg's clothes embraced futuristic beauty looks, bold hair, punk sensibilities, and a strong sense of androgyny.

She was also a musician and supported Debbie Harry of Blondie and The Pogues, before founding the band Doll.

Getty Images Model s and fashion designer Pam Hogg walks the runway at the Pam Hogg show during London Fashion Week February 2020 at the Fashion Scout Venue on February 16, 2020 in London, England.Getty Images
Hogg walks the runway with models at her London Fashion Week show in February 2020

Welsh said Hogg was "a great friend to so many people" who brought everyone together.

He said: "I remember one time I met her at this block party in Hackney and she basically commanded the room and talked to everybody.

"A week later I was book-touring in America and went to a swanky rooftop party in Manhattan and there she is - Hoggy standing there with a glass in her hand chatting to all these New York celebrities."

Hogg's work will go on display at Paisley Museum when it reopens later this year, following a transformation which she supported as part of the Re-Imagined project.

The Paisley Arts Festival was organised by arts and cultural charity OneRen with support from Creative Scotland. It runs until Sunday.